The Social Experiment
by Illicium verum
Summary: It's Kurama against the world in an epic race against time in this thrilling epic race story of all time!
1. Chapter 1

This is a pretty bad story. Don't read it.

* * *

><p><span>The social experiment.<span>

"You wanted to see me?" Kurama asked, stepping into Koenma's office and lightly closing the door. Kurama approached the couch slowly, keeping his eyes on Koenma.

"I did. You are, of course, aware that with the worlds coming closer together on this part of their orbits, there have been… more supernatural occurrences of late?"

Kurama nodded, and Koenma took this as a sign of understanding.

"And are you aware of our usual response?"

Kurama nodded, understanding coming to him.

"Our book machine is not functioning. We haven't been able to put out sufficient volume of bad supernatural romance to convince humans that these supernatural sightings are the work of overactive tweenagers."

Kurama nodded again.

"So you want me to fix the machine? Or am I to dissuade people I meet in the street?" Kurama asked, not quite sure why this was important for him.

"Kurama, I want you to write a novel. It should be supernatural romance, not very good, and sufficient to explain most of these phenomena. It should be attractive to teens but not to the general populace."

"Why me?" Kurama asked. Sure he was done with school, but he had better things to do. Like watch paint dry. "Are you sure I can't fix the machine?"

"You can look at it. Second hall on the left then third door."

Kurama got up and followed the plain, empty halls down to the printing press. He opened the door and stopped, shocked. The machine hadn't broken, it had been shattered. Large piles of extruded book product littered the floor, all but unusable, but thankfully still recyclable. He walked gingerly through the room trying not to get anything on his shoes. In a corner, there was one pile still standing. It was the stack of random plot mashups that the machine used to create the book product. He pulled the top plot page off and immediately decided to make that his story.

His mind already focused on the book, Kurama stuck his head into Koenma's office long enough to leave his assent to the project. At home, Kurama would begin the hottest teen bestseller in the worlds.

Stay tuned for **A Girl's Choice: Necrophilia vs. Bestiality!**. Of course, the title is still in the works, but you get the general idea.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurama's head was so full of ideas he didn't know where to start. Shiori noticed his introspectiveness and in good motherly fashion, she tried to help.

"Shuichi, what's up?" she asked, pulling her son into a side hug.

"Mom, I don't know how to tell you… I'm not sure what to say. I, well," Kurama paused uncertainly. If he told his mother he was writing a teen vampire romance novel, what would she think of him?

"Are you gay?" Shiori asked a bit too frankly for Kurama's taste. "Or is someone pregnant? Maybe you've had a secret girlfriend you keep locked up in a trashy apartment and you use her for sex and barely feed her and when she goes out, you make her lie about where she got her bruises because you tell her nobody will believe her if she tells the truth about what a depraved monster you are but she won't because of her martyr complex and also she's pregnant with your rapebaby and you threatened it so she can't leave you. Abuse is never okay, for any reason."

Kurama was stunned.

"Movie of the week, honey. I was joking. Shuichi? Okay? I was just trying to make what you had to say seem less scary in comparison." Shiori laughed at herself. "Seriously, love, just tell me. I can imagine worse things, trust me."

That didn't really make Kurama feel better, but she was right, writing a romance novel was seriously normal compared with the horrors of movie of the week specials.

"Mom, I got a job. It's not a regular job," he interrupted when she looked ready to say that a job wasn't a bad thing, son, it happens when we get out of school. "I'm writing a teen romance novel."

Shiori managed to keep a straight face.

"I hope it's under a pseudonym," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Kurama agreed, glad his mother wasn't reacting badly. He handed over the plot sheet. "I don't know what teen girls like, so, uh, maybe you can give me some ideas?" he asked tentatively.

"For a book like this? You want cold calculations to figure out a shrieking demographic? Think about it. You want a world in which all myths are true, women are lustful for bad boys, anguished declarations of love, anticlimaxes, a baby because babies make everything better; where the good guys are beautiful, the heroine is feminine but can beat up the guys, everyone ends up with someone, quotes from other romance novels, superpowers all around, some fanservice, some angst a teen can relate to, and even love at first sight! Sorry. I can remember junior high."

Kurama laughed a bit nervously. "So, am I right in assuming that the book should be more like a fantasy world than actual life? That's kind of sad. But if that's what it takes to sell books, then let the dream world begin."


	3. Chapter 3

"You make me sick."

"That's not very nice, Yusuke," Kurama chided, though he'd had the same thought about himself more often in the past weeks than ever before.

"Koenma asks you to write a novel to make people believe this supernatural stuff is the product of overactive imaginations? Why does he think that will work at all?"

"Reikai has had this issue before, and blaming it on teenagers has never failed. Remember when Gouki was stealing childrens' souls? Everyone thought it was heatstroke. Humans like reasonable, natural causes even though all the evidence clearly points to the supernatural. If humans looked, I mean really looked at the world, they'd see the supernatural everywhere, but their singleminded focus on reason and rationality allows demons to live comfortably next to humans."

"Fine, yeah, I guess we have had some close calls. Are people really that oblivious?" Yusuke rolled over on Kurama's bed and stared at the ceiling. "I mean, Kuwabara and his sister could see ghosts, but Keiko… she had trouble believing Botan even after she saw her flying and stuff. So that's why sixth sense is so rare? Because it implies a supernatural connection?"

"Not because of the implication as much as because it assumes the supernatural without explanation."

Yusuke turned that idea around in his head, trying to follow Kurama's thoughts.

"That… makes sense, I guess," he said slowly. "But you writing a romance novel still makes me sick. At least you can put in cameos of people we know, right?"

"No way. When you read this garbage, you'll be glad you're not in it, even as a minor character."

"Hey, you should do that thing like the trashy novels Keiko reads where all the dialogue is like medieval times or something. You know, like how instead of being all, 'Man, let's go do shit,' it's like, 'Would you, sir, enjoy a witty repartee and possibly some simulated fisticuffs at yon arcade,' you know?" Yusuke rolled back onto his side so he could watch Kurama type.

"You think that's better than real people?" Kurama asked, though clearly thinking about the idea. "Mom said something like that, how teens aren't looking for reality but more a fantasy world like ours except that self-esteem issues are largely discarded; no true crisis of identity or friendship, just simulated angst that's more easily dealt with than in reality."

"As long as there's Nazis. Or a bad guy with similar organizational structure. There have to be Nazis."

Kurama gave Yusuke a look.

"Boys? Would you like some tea?" Shiori peeked in and asked cheerfully.

"Shiori! Tell Shuichi his romance novel needs Nazis," Yusuke replied, sitting up to better plead his case.

"Nazis? Where did that come from?"

"Someone needs to persecute the minority and be such an unrepentant bad guy that killing him is like a moral victory that the mains don't have to angst over."

"That makes sense. Shuichi, you need Nazis. End of story. No Nazis, no dessert." Shiori stalked forcefully out, seemingly having forgotten the promise of tea.

Kurama didn't acknowledge either of them, turning back to his computer.


	4. Chapter 4

"So… What are you writing?" Yusuke asked, now hanging upside down off the bed. "I mean, what are you writing as of this moment right now," he clarified when Kurama glared at him.

"A dance scene. One of those where the fate of the world hangs in the balance, but the protagonist and boyfriend are off dancing. Because dancing is serious business and all teens need to put themselves and their Relationship ahead of family, friends, and obligations. Really, what book would sell if the message was 'go to school, do your homework, be responsible, obey your parents' instead of discovering yourself, usually through illegal or forbidden things?"

"And that's the purpose of a dance scene?" Yusuke asked. "But why?"

"Because real life teens tend to do their chores and go to school and their worst rebellion is emo music or a sip of their mom's beer. In a book, especially when they can relate to the main character, they can explore the kinds of things they wish desperately they could do, only there are no consequences because it's only a fantasy," Kurama replied. "My mom's an expert; I did not come up with that myself. She's been telling me stories of when she was in junior high looking forward to high school and not sure who she was, terrified of the future, but her parents treated her like she was overreacting so she read a lot."

"Hah, that explains a lot about your mom. Did she ever read that one book? I can't remember the title, but Keiko loves it and it's about this girl and this guy she meets on a cruise ship and it turns out they're from the same school," Yusuke rambled, playing with a deck of cards.

"That one book?" Kurama mumbled. "Oh yeah, the one where they go back home and they fall in love?" he mocked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Yusuke said, oblivious to Kurama's sarcasm. "And it turns out they're like soulmates or something."

"And then there's the bad girl who wishes she had the boyfriend and she gets all jealous and tries to get revenge, but the main girl is so nice or whatever that they end up best friends and then the bad-turned-good girl ends up with a side character and happy endings," Kurama teased.

"Hey, I was being serious! There really is a book," Yusuke pouted.

"Sure, only hundreds of them, all with the same plot," Kurama pouted back.

"So can I read it?" Yusuke asked.

"Nope. It will break you. Teen girls only," Kurama replied with a straight face.

"It will not! I can read stuff like this. I'll just pretend the boyfriend is Gackt. Then I can pretend he's saying that stuff to me. Then I'll understand why teen girls like this kind of thing," Yusuke rambled.

Kurama wasn't sure if Yusuke knew what he was saying, but he mentally filed away Yusuke's semi-love confession for Gackt because it might come in handy in the future.

"You know," Yusuke mused, "we should totally have pancakes sometime."


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, Kurama was in the park working on that story. He looked disgustedly at his phone. He opened the text from Koenma again.

'Hey, Kurama! Guess what! I have an idea! There can be four books! Like a series!'

Kurama leaned back into the bench, closing his eyes. The contrast between the heat of the sun and the still-cool breeze played across his face. The tree next to the bench rustled tellingly.

"Hello, Hiei," he murmured softly.

Hiei sat down next to Kurama. He got the feeling it would be better if he didn't say anything just yet. He craned his neck trying to see what Kurama was working on. He couldn't quite see enough to get an idea.

"What are you working on?" he asked bluntly.

Kurama laughed.

"It's a supernatural romance," he began, gearing up for a long explanation. "Of course, there will be at least two different kinds of supernatural beings involved. Naturally, they will dislike each other, and one will be generally xenophobic, the sort where the name for their own group translates as 'the people' or 'the true people' and the word for other people is like 'devil' or 'not real people' except the protagonist is nice to them and they turn from their isolationist ways. In the end, they're best friends with the protagonist and all her friends even though they've been isolationists for all their history before they met her."

Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"No, really," Kurama continued. "The protagonist brings people together. As long as they're supernatural, anyway. Regular people can go hang."

Hiei raised his eyebrow a bit higher.

"No, I'm not doing this because I feel like it," Kurama said defensively. "Koenma really needed someone to do it."

"Is this a light into the future thing?" Hiei asked, inexplicably switching topic. "The making friends with the protagonist? Like the tribe is dying and they want someone to know they existed before their ways are lost forever?"

"That's great!" Kurama exclaimed, scribbling furiously on his notepad. "If you have other ideas, let me know."

Kurama leaned back again, his thoughts racing through his head. On the other side of the park, the laughter of children and the songs of birds wheeling through the sky cut the silence. Kurama wasn't satisfied with the dying tribe, light into the future thing yet.

"What are they sending though?" he mused. "Since it's a romance, it could be a Chosen One kind of thing, and he could be a Potential Boyfriend Guy for the protagonist. Hiei, I think I love you."

Hiei nodded. He'd heard it all before.

"And he could have some secret weapon thing handed down through time to fight the bad guy that the protagonist can only get by making friends with his clan or something, and his father can be the chief guy who can give long expositions of Instructional Dialogue," Kurama rambled.

"And he'll end up a bad guy," Hiei offered. "Because it's foreshadowed from the first time they meet. Know why? Because he has red hair. An evil redhead is important."

Kurama stared at Hiei in shock.

"Yukina reads those books," he muttered, looking away.


	6. Chapter 6

"Not that," Kurama looked put out. "What's with this redheads are evil thing? I'm not evil."

Hiei backed up a bit.

"Well, not _EVIL_ evil. Not maliciously. Most of the time. Fine, I hadn't really thought about it that way before. I guess, by some standards, if you look really close, I have sometimes done things that might pass for evil in a poor light," Kurama admitted defensively. "But I'm not a criminal like some people, unless you count getting caught by Reikai, which I don't."

Hiei tried not to laugh but ended up letting out a snort.

"Fine, but how am I supposed to introduce a big bad evil guy to an ordinary high school student?" Kurama said, changing the topic.

Hiei's look was almost insulting.

"No, I don't mean how _can_ I, but how _should _I," Kurama clarified. "As in, should the evil one be a human or otherwise? An adult or another student? God?"

"A regular person transformed given evil powers by an artifact of darkness?" Hiei offered.

"Sure, and then he can go all crazy and try to make a demon army and stab his ex-ally through the stomach," Kurama wondered innocently.

"Shut up," Hiei muttered darkly.

"No, no; I like that idea. There can be three sides, no alliances. Kind of like a ménage a trois, but with melee instead. All sorts of conflict. This does have teenagers in it, after all," Kurama said as he scribbled.

"You're really getting into this, aren't you?" Hiei noted.

"I guess," Kurama replied. "I hadn't given human romantic behavior much thought before, and I'm surprised how much of what they do is informed by books and movies."

"Have you talked to Kuwabara?" Hiei asked. "He's pretty big on romance, and he'll be a better informant than Yusuke."

"And it'll get him away from Yukina," Kurama added.

"Purely coincidental," Hiei shot back.

"What do you think of a forest?" Kurama asked suddenly. "I like forests, and then I can add all sorts of supernatural glowing things."

"You want a forest so you can have some fantastic light source for a romantic setting for teenagers to make out? Wow, let me think about that. No, that's dumb," Hiei deadpanned.

"But if there are magic supernatural things then it can be like a deus ex machina to explain how things cross worlds, and it might be cool," Kurama whined.

"Why did you ask me?" Hiei complained. "You want a forest, put a forest, even if it sucks."

"That's the idea. This isn't supposed to be a masterwork; it's supposed to be an average teen paranormal romance," Kurama said plainly.

"Sometimes it takes more skill to do a thing badly on purpose," Hiei noted. "This will be harder than you seem to be anticipating."

"Sure, sure," Kurama muttered. "That's what the expository labels are for. It can't be high literature because things are spelled out more directly rather than be left a mystery. Foreshadowing with expo tags is a classic sign of teen fiction."

Hiei rolled his eyes and left, making sure not to disturb Shiori.


	7. Chapter 7

"So, Kurama, what's this I hear about vampire Nazis?" Kuwabara asked nonchalantly, dodging a woman carrying three bags of groceries, a laptop, and a small child.

Kurama glared.

"There are no Nazis," he insisted. "Not literal ones, anyway," he added when Kuwabara looked disappointed. "It's just an idea that the bad guy is really bad, not just misunderstood."

"Oh," said Kuwabara. It was all there was to say, really.

The sun was finally showing through the clouds, and the whole city seemed more alive under its light. Even the birds were singing again, flitting through the trees and bathing in the shallow puddles on the side of the road. Everything seemed brighter and more… fresh somehow, as though the rain had given everything a new vitality. The weather was definitely cooling, but in the afternoon light the beginnings of autumn could be mistaken for spring.

Kuwabara had taken up walking lately. He had teased Kurama about his old man's habit before, but once Yukina had proclaimed her enthusiasm for walks in the park, Kuwabara was sold.

"What is it like, being in love?" Kurama asked.

"Well, uh…"

"I see," Kurama noted. "Very astute. And is this a common symptom?" he teased.

"Shut up," Kuwabara punched Kurama on the arm.

"It's hard to describe," Kuwabara began again.

"Obviously," Kurama muttered.

"There's not really anything you can use to say when love begins; no twinkle in the sky, no song in your heart," Kuwabara mused.

"Reading poetry, I see. For Yukina?" Kurama asked.

Kuwabara blushed.

"It's like there's a compelling voice bending you toward that person," Kuwabara described, "and all your thoughts and dreams focus intently on that person, at least for a while. But in the beginning, it's different from any other time in the relationship, I don't know why. Maybe that's why some people can't commit; they like that rush of first love, but they don't want to wait for deep love because it's not so exciting."

Kurama was impressed at how much better Kuwabara's vocabulary had become at college, but he hadn't expected such drama.

"Maybe you should write this," he joked.

"Heh, no way, man," Kuwabara said quickly. "I've got so much work already, I don't think I can handle it. No really, I'm sure you'll do a great job with this… thing you're doing."

"Fine, so what do teenagers like about love?" Kurama continued.

"Eh, for me it was feeling like I was more of an adult. I mean, I had crushes when I was young, but around high school I saw my dates as… I'm not sure how to explain it. Dates before were just to, you know, go to the park together or see a movie with a friend, something I could do with my guy friends as easily as with a girl. Then suddenly it's different and going to the park or seeing a movie isn't about the experience as much as who you're with. And then seeing a movie with the guys is just like before, you know? Just doing it to see the movie and hang out? But the same movie, same _me_ with a girl? It's like just being around a girl made me so much more aware that I was a man; I've been more conscious of that around girls, and I haven't gotten over it and I hope I never do. It's so empowering to just suddenly be aware of myself and her, and it's totally different than being around Yusuke, you know? Am I making sense?" Kuwabara shook his head.

"So it's a rite of passage into adulthood. Got it," Kurama noted.

"You make it sound so clinical," Kuwabara whined. "It's different and special and wonderful!"

"Yeah, that's what you said. I was just having a horrible mental image," Kurama replied.

"And? What is it?" Kuwabara pried.

"I was just imagining Kaito on a date. The horror on the poor girl's face, the way he's so clueless about things like social cues… I can't think of people like him as having a love life; it would just ruin the whole thing for me," Kurama said disgustedly.

"So don't think about it," Kuwabara retorted.

"It's not that easy! It's like when you see something gross and you can't look away, you know?" Kurama said desperately. "Like if you see an accident on the road, you have to look even though you know you don't want to."

"Yeah, about that… I think it's just you," Kuwabara replied.

"No! Yusuke too!" Kurama said, realizing immediately that Yusuke would never be a good example of normal behavior.

"That reminds me, about the Nazi bad guys, I wanted to ask if you were set on that. I mean, there's more in real life of mean people who aren't necessarily into beating you up, but they're always there being evil in a more intellectual-cunning sort of way," Kuwabara noted. "Like how Sensui did it with the portal thing? He didn't go around announcing his intentions; we weren't on to him until it was almost done, and even then we only noticed because he meant for us to find him."

"Sure, that's a good idea. Why not have both though? Some non-action bad guy and also a physical bully Nazi type," Kurama suggested. "Not necessarily working together, but just a further complication in the main character's life."

"Or the bad guy could transition from one to the other. Like he's all strong and stuff, then the main characters win the day and he loses the ability to beat people up after coming back from being only mostly dead, and he goes all crazy smart and becomes a non-action bad guy," Kuwabara said excitedly. "Hey, totally unrelated, but can the main characters have a circle of friendship sort of thing? I like those. Anyway, I gotta get going. Shizu's waiting for me to get stuff at the store. Bye!"

Left alone with all these new ideas, Kurama wandered slowly back to home. Even the chill wind didn't distract him, and the setting sun couldn't pull him out of his thoughts


	8. Chapter 8

N.B. I added to the last chapter, so if you read it as soon as it came out, you might have missed the final ending.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Mom?" Kurama called.<p>

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" Shiori said, not looking up from the dishes.

"How do you feel about a saints and sinners approach? Is that too simplistic?" Kurama asked.

"It depends on how you're writing. If an omniscient narrator's perspective is biased, that could cause problems in the long run. On the other hand, if you're writing from the perspective of one of the characters who has strong prejudice, it's okay to show people he doesn't like as bad people. It's like history: early colonists coming into contact with, say, native Okinawans, portrayed them as savage natives because from their perspective, that's what the Okinawans were. On the other hand, an unbiased narrator of history would also include the natives' perspectives on the colonizers and be less black and white," Shiori said, scrubbing a pot.

Kurama sat back in the chair, eyes closed. There was a lot to think about; in fact, it was getting to be a bit too much. Today would be spent in the garden getting it ready for winter. The narrative was getting pretty heavy, and a lighter, softer chapter would need to appear soon to keep the book from too much heavy material.

He pulled on a jacket and went outside. The roses had been too tall this season, so Kurama cut them shorter than last year; he could see the previous years' scars on the branches. Some of the plants had caught a spreading rust, so all the leaves would have to be burned and the pruned branches sprayed with oil.

Kurama liked autumn; it felt like going to sleep. The trees could feel the days growing shorter, so they sealed themselves against the cold and dark. The days themselves were uncertain; one would be hot, the next would be cold and drizzly.

This morning, there were light traces of frost on the roofs and fence line. Some of the decorative rocks had frozen pools of water in their crevices and frosted leaves lightly resting on the edge. The birdbath hadn't frozen through; it was on the sunny side of the yard, and it was too large to fully freeze in fall.

Kurama worked through the roses and moved to the lavender. It was a decorative plant and it smelled wonderful, but it took a lot of trimming. The plant's core turned woody and dead every year unless it was pruned back after every bloom. It was worth it though, because the trimmings added a pleasant smell to the fire in winter.

A hobby, that's what the characters needed. They still seemed so flat, not like people. It was hard to develop the personality of a flat character. Unfortunately, most of the various things humans did for a hobby held little interest for Kurama.

Flaws were easier to come up with; they were easy enough to spot in others and Kurama wasn't so attached to these characters that he wouldn't make them awful if necessary.

The phone rang, but Kurama ignored it. He hadn't been in the garden for a while, and he felt he deserved the break. Unfortunately, whoever was calling wasn't content to leave a message; the phone kept ringing. Kurama sighed and took off his gloves, leaving them on the pile of rose cuttings. He took his time pulling off the dirty garden shoes, hoping whoever it was would go away.

Kurama opened the door into the house and was surprised to hear his cell phone also ringing. He picked up a cordless phone and brought it with him to find his cell. The caller ID on the cell phone said it was Kuwabara, who was probably still on the vampire Nazi idea. Kurama answered the house phone first.

"Yeah?" he said into the phone.

"Kurama? It's you?" Kurama identified the voice as Yusuke.

"What? I'm busy," Kurama said trying to emphasize his lack of desire for company.

"Yukina was taken, we don't know where. There's a note here, and Genkai's pretty beat up," Yusuke was speaking quickly, and Kurama didn't know if he was actually hearing anymore.

"What does the note say?" he asked frantically, trying to put on a jacket. "Never mind, I'm coming over. Where are you?"

"At the temple. Kuwabara and Hiei are here. Get here as fast as you can!" Yusuke shouted.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurama walked out of the Minamino house and down the street toward the train station. He made it to Genkai's place in good time.

"Yusuke, what's up? Have we found anything on this guy yet?" he asked.

"No, nothing, just the note. It's written in _blood_, Kurama. Who would do this?" Yusuke whispered. "I can't think of too many reasons for this. It's either about the tear gems or Hiei, and it's going to be hard to figure out which it is. Tear gems are so valuable, but everyone seems to know Yukina is Hiei's Achilles heel. He's got so many enemies, and everyone wants to get rich; how are we going to find her? We have nothing, literally."

"Show me," Kurama said, no expression on his face.

Yusuke led the way down the hall, which seemed larger and more empty than ever before. Genkai had lived in that house and trained there for so many years that Kurama could believe the house had developed sentience.

Yusuke pulled open the door to the room where Genkai lay sleeping and bandaged on a low couch. The note stood out sharply on the wall, taunting Kurama with its presence.

"I have some plants that might help Genkai," he offered.

"Sure, go ahead," Yusuke said dully. He would have agreed to anything at this point.

Kurama deftly pulled a seed out of his hair, encouraging it to grow. He took the new leaves and peeled off the waxy exterior to expose the gelly inside. He placed the halves carefully inside Genkai's mouth so they wouldn't obstruct her breathing in any way.

"We can't leave her alone," he said, more to himself than to the others.

Kuwabara nodded.

"I can stay," Kurama offered. "Hiei should look for Yukina in the demon world, and Kuwabara can look here."

"What about me?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm not sure," Kurama admitted. "It would be easier to search if we had more people. Tell Koenma and see if there's anyone we can use. Hagiri maybe? Jin and Chu? Whoever you can find."

Yusuke nodded.

"I'll call around too; I still have a few informants," Kurama said.

Minutes later, the temple was quiet and Kurama was alone with the still form of Genkai. He sighed and went to find a book.


	10. Chapter 10

Kurama had found a book on France and was enjoying it immensely. He had no idea Genkai had travel books; she didn't seem the type to go places. Maybe she did when she was younger? Kurama mentally filed that away to ask later.

It seemed a bit dull to just sit around Genkai's house alone and wait for everyone else to come back, so Kurama got out a broom and started sweeping the house, making sure to leave the doors open so he would be able to hear if Genkai started waking up. Though she was the master of at least three different kinds of martial arts, Genkai was lazy in terms of cleaning, generally preferring to have her unwitting students do the work.

Genkai knew when to retreat, and she often said that it was better to run from a fight you can't win than to die for your ideals. Given that, it was terrible to see her in this condition. The enemy must have overtaken her and not given her any chance to turn away or fight back. Someone who could do this would be very difficult to defeat, and if he was smart enough to stay hidden, this could drag on for a long time.

Not that there weren't advantages to having a teammate with an implanted jagan, of course, but Kurama couldn't see how that would help in getting Yukina back once they'd found her. If Genkai had fought back and was still unable to do enough damage to get her enemy to leave a bloodstain, what if Yusuke and Hiei and Kuwabara couldn't do anything themselves? Against Sensui it was like they were using water guns against a cannon, and Yusuke had often said his worst fear was something like that happening again.

"Kurama?" a voice called through the house.

He set the broom down silently and crept carefully toward the front door.

"Kurama, it's Botan! Koenma sent me!" she called again.

Kurama relaxed and let out a breath he'd hardly realized he was holding.

"In here, Botan," he said loudly, not wanting to wake Genkai with yelling.

"Hey," she said, giving Kurama a hug. "What's up? Yusuke barely said a word to me! He ran straight in to see Koenma, and I was told to go straight here. I heard there was a fight?"

"Yeah, Genkai was hurt. They left a note in blood; we're not sure whose. They took Yukina. The note didn't say where she was taken or give any clue who took her," Kurama said quickly, leading Botan down the hall to where Genkai was still sleeping. "Hiei's gone ballistic; he's angry at himself for letting this happen."

"Yeah, I guessed as much," Botan replied. "Can I do anything for her?"

"No, I've given her something, so we just have to wait until she wakes up on her own," Kurama said.

"I'm scared of what might happen now. How long until we hear something?" Botan asked.

"They've only been gone a few hours, and it's going to take longer than that to find something," Kurama said.

Botan nodded in understanding and sat down next to Genkai to hold her hand. A cool breeze started up, and Kurama got up to close the window.

"Botan, come see this," he whispered urgently.

"What? Oh… what is that?" she whispered back, fear clearly evident in her voice.

"I'm not sure," Kurama replied.

There was definitely something out there, just beyond clear sight in the thick foliage.

"Rock-paper-scissors to see who has to go out there?" Kurama suggested.

"I'm a woman!" Botan protested.

"That's sexist," Kurama pointed out, " and besides, you can fly. Kuwabara's not here, so we have an even chance of winning, or at least not losing."

"Heh, yeah, I remember at the tournament when you had to teach Hiei… 'It's a very serious human game,' you said; I laughed so hard when Hiei wasn't looking," Botan smiled. "But still, this time it is serious. Fine. We'll make our own luck." Botan's smile faded as she prepared to face off.

Both combatants took a wide stance, neither looking away from the other. A leaf fell slowly from the tree. The moment it hit the ground, they simultaneously pulled out their strongest weapons.

"Oh man," Botan complained, "I really should start picking something other than rock."

"I'll be right here, and I'll be armed. Just get a closer look, that's all," Kurama encouraged.

"Easy for you to say!" Botan shot back. "I saw enough from here, thank you very much."

Nevertheless, she grabbed her oar and held it like a baseball bat in preparation for whatever might be in the bushes.

The hairs stood up on Kurama's neck as he watched Botan get closer to where they had seen the creature.


	11. Chapter 11

Kurama was a bit surprised when Botan lowered her oar slightly. She looked confused.

"Kurama, it isn't here. Are you sure we saw something?" she called softly.

He nodded. There had definitely been something in the bushes.

Botan turned to come back inside, still questioning what she had seen earlier. Out of nowhere, a dragon swooped down and took her.

Kurama had been coming out to meet her, and he stood in the garden transfixed at the sight of a small black dragon flying over the roof and into a portal, Botan hitting it with her oar to dislodge herself from its grasp.

Kurama ran back inside and flung the door closed, trying to lock the door but fumbling instead in his haste. He sprinted down the corridor, catching his shoulder in the doorway as he ran through to check on Genkai.

Thankfully, the aged martial artist was still where he had left her, though the leaves of the herb he had put in her mouth had turned black. Kurama picked them out and replaced them with fresh ones.

There was a noise down the hall and the sound of running, and Kurama was startled for a bit before he recognized Hiei's stride. Kurama turned back to Genkai and watched the rise and fall of her chest a few times to make sure there was nothing wrong before going to the door to greet Hiei.

It was a good thing he got there when he did, because Hiei's side was torn open. He seemed to have run back to the temple with the last of his strength; when he saw Kurama, he pitched forward unconscious. Kurama hefted Hiei onto the floor next to Genkai as best he could, checking over Hiei's body as he did so. There were several lacerations that would have to be taken care of, as well as the bruises that littered Hiei's chest and head.

Kurama strode purposefully down the hall to the medicine room to find a spare mattress and some bandages. Willing his mind to calm down, he counted his steps and concentrated on the creak of the floorboards instead of thinking of what might have damaged his friend so severely.

Hiei seemed to want to speak, but Kurama held him steady and gave him something to make him sleep. There would be time later for explanations; right now, the priority was making sure Hiei would recover in one piece. Kurama sorted deftly through the boxes of herbs, mixing and grinding, adding here and there, moving faster than usual though careful not to make a mistake.

He was so engrossed in his work that he hadn't noticed Kuwabara's return at all. Kuwabara looked dejectedly at the wall, rereading the bloody note.

"Why didn't you clean this up?" he asked quietly.

"That?" Kurama asked. "It might be important. Or there might be traces of the kidnapper around, and I don't want to inadvertently clean up a big clue."

Kuwabara nodded silently.

"I heard from Yusuke," he offered after a long minute of quiet.

"What did he say?" Kurama asked curiously.

"He talked to Koenma, was gonna go find Hagiri but couldn't remember where he lived, so he's getting Jin and Toya and Chu and some others. We're gonna meet here and think of something," Kuwabara deadpanned.

"Are you okay?" Kurama asked, surprised by Kuwabara's demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm not hurt, no I'm not fine," Kuwabara said flatly.

Kurama turned back to bandaging Hiei.

"How long will Yusuke be gone?" Kurama wondered, not really expecting Kuwabara to know the answer.

"He's not too far away," Kuwabara responded. "I can sense him coming," he explained.


	12. Chapter 12

Yusuke came crashing through the forest instead of up the stairs like a normal person. He was alone and as soon as he saw Hiei, his face fell. Yusuke carefully brushed some leaves off his jacket, looking back and forth between Hiei and Genkai in disbelief.

"What happened?" he whispered.

"Not sure yet," Kuwabara whispered back. "He barely made it here, Kurama said, and he's been out ever since."

"Wow… I wonder if Yukina's okay," Yusuke said, crouching down next to Hiei and looking over the extent of the bandages. "I mean, usually things don't get this bad," he added, worry clearly evident on his face.

Kuwabara didn't respond.

Kurama spoke up when the silence had dragged on long enough to be uncomfortable. "What about the others? Didn't you find anyone to help us?" he asked.

Yusuke's head snapped up. "I met Toya, and he's gonna tell the others; they were somewhere else, but they'll be here." Yusuke tugged at the hem of his shirt listlessly. "What are we gonna do? Our only lead is that someone beat up Hiei in the demon world, presumably because he was looking for Yukina."

"We'll go together," Kuwabara said loudly, looking better now that things were moving forward. "We'll find who did this to Hiei and find out why and hopefully it'll give us something on Yukina too." Kuwabara stared straight ahead as he said all this, anger etching hard lines on his face. "I kind of hope she isn't around though," he mused, "because I don't want her to have to see what I'm gonna do to tthat guy when I find him."

Kurama was surprised to feel palpable waves of anger rolling off Kuwabara. He wondered what Kuwabara had in mind for Hiei's attacker that might be harmful to minors and women, but decided he didn't really want to know that badly.

"She's probably in chains right now, unwillingly suspended in the air like a delicate angel," Kuwabara interrupted Kurama's thoughts. "She's hurting, I can feel it. The power of love will lead me to her side, and I will free her from her bonds and destroy all who oppose me!" Kuwabara was shouting now, gesturing wildly around the room. Genkai snorted in her sleep and everyone turned to look at her.

"Shut up, she needs rest," Yusuke whispered fiercely.

Kurama went quickly to Genkai's side and felt her forehead to see if she was running a temperature.

"Is she alright?" Yusuke asked worriedly, coming cautiously closer.

"She's just sleeping," Kurama replied. He sighed and turned to Kuwabara. "But she does need to sleep. In peace," he said pointedly.

"If she's okay, will you come with us to find Yukina?" Kuwabara asked sheepishly. "I mean, you're really smart and you're good at thinking and stuff."

"Yeah, I can come with you. Hiei and Genkai are both stable, and as long as nothing comes here while we're gone, they should be fine." Kurama replied. "It was absolutely quiet while you were gone; nobody came here at all."


	13. Chapter 13

Toya showed up not long after that, Jin and Rinku in tow. "Shishi and Chu weren't with them," he explained, "but I left a note and if they see it, not that they ever read the notes I leave for them, but if a miracle happens and they see the note, they'll meet up with us in the demon world. Of course, they're probably over there now, drunk out of their minds, so we might see them that way." Toya stopped when Jin elbowed him sharply in the side.

"Well… I guess we're off," Yusuke said tentatively, looking back at Genkai. Truthfully, he wasn't pleased at the prospect of leaving her alone, but what else could they do? He needed Kurama, especially since they were going to be short Hiei, but he couldn't shake the bad feeling he got seeing his teacher laid out as though she were dead.

Kuwabara seemed to share Yusuke's feeling that all was not well. Kuwabara leaned heavily against the doorframe. It was hard on him, too, leaving Genkai alone, but Yukina was out there somewhere.

"We should go," Kurama said suddenly, breaking the silence. He picked up Kuwabara's jacket and headed toward the door. "Come on, we'd better hurry. Yukina might be in serious danger," he urged.

That got Kuwabara's attention, and his sudden energy brought life into the entire group. With looks of grim determination, the boys headed to the portal to the demon world, looking for Yukina, hoping for good luck.

* * *

><p>The sun was blisteringly hot on their skin as they stepped in to the demon world. The surrounding landscape was cracked and dry, blackthorn bushes and smoke trees dotting the open terrain. Dead grass crunched under Kurama's feet as he moved to make room for the others. Even in the height of summer, Kurama found himself enjoying the surroundings. He had been in the human world for a long time now, and every time he returned here, to the land of his birth, he was inevitably transported into memories of the world as it used to be.<p>

Yusuke was in his element here too, taking charge of a mission. He hadn't quite known what to do with himself watching Genkai lay sleeping as though dead, trying to help but not sure what to do. Here, he knew what to do, how to act. He would find Yukina and take down the one who kidnapped her. Simple.

"Alright, listen up!" he shouted. All heads turned toward him. "Hiei was near this area when he was attacked; we're gonna find who did it. Hopefully, it'll also lead us to Yukina. If not, we'll at least get rid of one more of Hiei's enemies."

Yusuke glanced quickly at Kurama, who helpfully pointed the way to the nearest settlement.

"That way," Yusuke gestured as if he'd known the whole time, "is where we think Hiei was coming from, and over there," he pointed at the distant hills, "is where we think he was headed based on information Koenma gave us. We're gonna start at the village and work our way to a known stronghold in the hills."

Everyone nodded their understanding and set off at a run toward the village, stirring up dust in their wake. Only Kuwabara was worried.

"Hey, Kurama?" he whispered so as not to be heard by the others. "This doesn't feel right. I don't think Hiei was attacked here. It's just… well, something's not right, this isn't right."

"Maybe not," Kurama whispered back, "but we don't have anything else to go on right now. We have no idea where Yukina might be. Where else should we start? We know Hiei came here, and he's got the jagan, and that was our only clue."

Kuwabara fell silent and drifted to the back of the group. He was still uneasy, and he wasn't sure why. Nothing added up. He thought back over the past few days. Everyone had been making a big deal about the book Kurama was writing until Yukina was kidnapped and Genkai seriously injured in her own home. Kuwabara ran closer to Kurama again.

"Hey, what about vampire Nazis?" he asked conversationally.

Kurama gave him a confused look. "What about vampire Nazis?" Kurama asked. "Do you think they're behind this somehow?"

"Yeah, something like that," Kuwabara said. "What about romance and falling in love. You know all about that, right? You're like an expert on how teenagers see love, remember? You were telling me all about it."

"Oh yeah, I remember that conversation," Kurama replied. "Isn't this a bad time to be talking about my love life now?"

"I dunno," Kuwabara said nonchalantly, "since you and Kaito got together last week, it's all you've been talking about, but lately you haven't said much."

"Yeah, I guess this whole thing with Yukina kind of put it out of my mind," Kurama mused thoughtfully.

"Shut it, guys," Yusuke called suddenly. "We're here."


	14. Chapter 14

Kuwabara and Yusuke were huddled together, planning their run toward the hills. Toya sidled up to Kurama, who was leaning against the wall that surrounded the small town, trying to keep in the shade.

"It's going to take us nearly until nightfall to get there as it is," Toya complained lightheartedly, "I wonder they don't hurry it up a bit."

Kurama smiled. "Yeah, it's not like any of us don't know how to fight if an enemy comes at us." He glanced over at Yusuke and Kuwabara and sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. The plain ahead was absolutely flat and covered in dead grass.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Toya began. "How could Hiei have been attacked out here? He must have seen it coming."

Kurama looked thoughtful. "Maybe it was just faster than him," he replied, "or maybe he was focusing on finding Yukina and he just didn't notice."

Toya laughed morosely. "I hope it's not that fast. That's bad news for us. Maybe he saw it coming and faced it rather than have it follow him forever."

"But it was able to beat him. If he faced it knowingly and lost, it's not going to be easy for us," Kurama pointed out.

"We have numbers," Toya reminded him. "And we're looking for an attack."

By the time Yusuke and Kuwabara broke apart, the sun was already low in the sky. Yusuke pulled Toya and Jin aside, presumably to tell them about the plan. Kuwabara approached Kurama.

"We're gonna circle left, me and you and Yusuke, and the three of them are gonna go right. We figured we're used to working together and they've been training together, so we're more used to fighting that way, so, uh, get ready, and we'll go soon," Kuwabara said vaguely. He went over to Rinku, presumably to relay the same information.

The witching hour brought with it a chill wind, though the ground still radiated heat. It was an odd feeling, being cold and hot at the same time. Kurama could feel the tension in the group, the barely suppressed excitement. He was waiting with Yusuke and Kuwabara, waiting for Jin to give the signal that they were ready to begin their simultaneous charge on the distant hills. Rinku kept sending nervous glances at the others, his usual confidence gone. Just then, Jin nodded at Yusuke and flashed a signal, and they were off.

Yusuke usually took point, but as they had no idea where an attack might come from, he took the outside position, letting Kurama lead and Kuwabara follow, not looking where he was going but stretching his sensory awareness in all directions. Kurama was a bit unnerved by the deviation from the usual plan, but he would be the first to admit that it was exhilarating to lead the pack. He channeled that extra energy into pushing his legs faster, reveling in the joy of speed and anticipation. They didn't talk, their ears strained to pick up any sign of an enemy, but all they could hear was the wind in the hollow, dead grass and the sound of their feet on the dust and brush.

The hills loomed in the dark, and they could see the darker outline of the castle stronghold just showing between two ridges. With their goal now in sight, the boys pressed on into the night, intent on finding Yukina and avenging their friends. They had been running for nearly an hour, and Kuwabara was showing signs of fatigue, though he was also trying not to let it show. Already singled out as the only human in the group, he wasn't about to hold the team back on that account.

The approach to the castle was at once welcome and unnerving. They were nearly to their destination, but they had not encountered any sign of resistance. Kurama would have thought Kuwabara might notice that maybe the attacker didn't live here after all, and was indeed focusing on Hiei. Then again, maybe Kuwabara could already sense their target.

As they neared the gates, Jin rejoined Yusuke for a combined assault on the stronghold. They veered left, going around to avoid the front, which would be more surely defended than the back. As they ran, a dark shape jumped down from the wall into the center of the group, slicing Kurama in half.


	15. Chapter 15

Being surrounded by a group of armed and angry boys was not what he had intended. He dropped his weapon to the ground and held up his hands in surrender. Kuwabara walked around to look in his face.

"Vampire Nazis?" Kuwabara asked.

"What? I told you they're not real Nazis. It's a metaphor. Are you going to attack me?"

Kuwabara relaxed and his energy sword vanished. "I'm so glad it's you, Kurama. How did you find us?"

"Wait," Kurama said, "what's going on? Why are you here?"

"What do you know?" Yusuke asked.

"You called and said that Yukina was kidnapped and Genkai was injured. You asked me to go to the temple to help," Kurama replied.

"Yeah, and then what?" Yusuke demanded impatiently.

"And that's it," Kurama said frankly.

"So you never made it to the temple?" Yusuke clarified. Kurama nodded.

"It was this guy all along," Kuwabara said, mortified at his lack of perception, as he kicked the body on the ground.

"How did you find out he was impersonating me?" Kurama asked.

Kuwabara laughed. "It was the vampire Nazis. I said something to him and he didn't remember that conversation at all."

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed. "Kuwabara came straight to me and said something was up. We weren't sure what until you showed up. We told the others too, so we were watching him pretty close on the way here."

"You probably shouldn't have killed him, though," Rinku chimed in. "We still don't know if it was him that attacked Hiei."

"I'm pretty sure it was," Kurama replied. "Let me explain."


	16. Chapter 16

Kurama didn't bother to tie his shoes or even put the jacket on all the way in his rush to get out of the house and over to the temple. He rushed out the front door and into a thick forest. Kurama froze in place, listening intently for any sign of danger. He looked slowly around, not hearing anything, nothing to suggest that he had been brought here except by accident. He turned to where he had come from and waved his hand in front of himself as he walked forward, trying to find the remnants of a portal or spell or ward that could have sent him to this forest. Of course, it could be an illusion, in which case he could easily walk into the street thinking he was still in the woods.

Fortunately, he could detect illusions, but he would have to meditate, leaving himself vulnerable to anything that might show up. Kurama climbed a tree, wondering what that would look like to passersby if this was an illusion and he was climbing air on the sidewalk.

He sat down to meditate.

The sounds and smells dimmed as his awareness shifted from outside to inside.

His breathing slowed.

The outside world disappeared.

There was no illusion.

There was a forest.

Kurama hopped down from the tree now that he was fairly certain it was a tree. He cleared away the brush to reveal a circle of dirt on which he drew a complex diagram. He fed some of his ki into the rune and watched it carefully. A sense of power filled the air and then vanished almost as soon as it started. This wasn't the human world.

Kurama took a deep breath and decided to head north, or at least what would have passed for north back at home, since the ground sloped gently in that direction and he hadn't brought water since he wasn't planning to leave.

As he walked, he realized what made this place so strange. There were trees and plants like a normal forest, but he couldn't sense their energy. Normally, Kurama would have been aware of the plant life from the moment he arrived, but these were either different or not real.

There was light, and it didn't seem to be fading; in fact, the light seemed to penetrate the dense foliage easily, and it wasn't as dark as it should have been on the forest floor. Kurama checked his phone; there was no signal, so he turned it off. The dirt was loamy and full of roots, but it didn't feel like the dirt Kurama was used to at all. Everything was so similar but just wrong for some reason Kurama couldn't quite pinpoint.

Farther on, the trees were thinner and everything seemed brighter. The dirt gave way to an odd sort of rock that made up the ground as well as the walls of the cliffs that had suddenly appeared. Kurama realized that it was the rock itself that gave off the light. He looked up and saw a distant patch of sky; he was _inside_ some great crystal with no way out but up.


	17. Chapter 17

The bottom was the best place to find water, if there was any, and it wasn't going to get dark any time soon, so Kurama set out exploring the immediate area. A loud scream sounded off the walls. Kurama's breathing slowed as he strained to hear any noise that would indicate the creature's proximity. After a few tense moments, he heard the scream again. It sounded like it was coming from above, but the only thing he could make out was something flying very high overhead, nearly at the top.

Kurama walked on, turning around every now and then to try to see what was sending chills down his spine. It had been a while since he had been in a strange place alone, and as much as he thought himself a competent fighter, it was good to have friends around. Kurama tripped suddenly, and he immediately turned to see what he had caught with his shoe. There was nothing there. Kurama backed up against a tree and sat perfectly still.

He knew he was being recklessly paranoid, and it was costing him. Of course, if Yusuke was here, he would have gone running through the sparse brush and looking around every tree to see what was around, shouting all the while. He was so incautious, but it seemed to work out for him every time.

Kurama took a few more deep breaths and turned toward the cliff face. He wasn't going to stay here any longer; either this place was affecting him in some way or he was more unnerved by his sudden removal from home than he had thought.

The rock of the cliff was very smooth and sheer, and where debris from up top had fallen down, there were sharp gashes in the ground. A small rat-like animal had paused in front of him, clearly unsure whether to run or keep going on its path presumably back to its den; its cheeks were stuffed with salmon colored seeds. Kurama stepped back slowly to let the thing by without giving it too much trouble.

The rat didn't seem to want to let Kurama out of its sight, though, so Kurama continued on, looking for a section of the cliff that he could climb, glancing back now and again to keep an eye on his new guest.

Kurama clambered over boulders, wove in and out of trees, and tracked along a dead waste before finally giving up on finding a way to climb to the top.

'If only I could use the plants here…' he thought morosely.

The rat was still there, and Kurama began to feel like it was somehow mocking his inability to find a way out. It was staring at him curiously, and for Kurama it was too much. He sank down to his knees and said, "Do you know a way out?"

He hadn't expected the rat to actually answer him, but he was still a bit disappointed when it finally ran off, frightened at hearing Kurama talk. He got up and followed it anyway, just in case this turned out to be one of those worlds where the animals all conveniently spoke Japanese.

The rat was long gone; Kurama wasn't so much following it as he was wandering vaguely in the general direction the rat had run off. The foliage was lush here, and maybe he shouldn't have given up on finding water. Kurama caressed the deep green leaves as they brushed his hands; it was almost second nature for him to do so, and in his thoughtlessness, he was surprised when one of the bushes scratched him.

It left a burning trail across the back of Kurama's hand, though it wasn't very deep and it didn't look like anything more than a simple scratch from a rosebush. He turned to examine the bush and found a tall mass of slender leaves with a pale red-orange flower sticking up from the middle. The whole plant looked like it was made of crystal, and it was quite hard, almost inorganic except that it was clearly living. The plant gave off a faint light, though Kurama couldn't tell if it was from the plant itself or a reflection of the luminescent rock.

He heard a dripping sound and continued on toward the source. A small trickle was evident now, and Kurama figured there must be a spring nearby.


	18. Chapter 18

There was, in fact, a beautiful spring. It was surrounded by the odd crystalline flowers as well as a few bright pink lilies. Kurama stopped short. There were three small fairies at the far end of the spring, clearly enjoying the water and each other's company. Having been walking all day, Kurama contented himself to sit under a shade tree and watch.

Kurama woke up to the sharp smell of smoke. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it as they stung and began to water. He was surrounded by small green rocks and several fairies who stared so hard Kurama wondered briefly if they were trying to glare a hole in his skull. He felt tired and heavy; he could hardly feel his arms but he knew he wouldn't be able to lift them if he tried.

The landscape seemed to swirl into itself. Kurama's mind gave up and put him back to sleep.

Kurama woke again with a splitting headache. The light was too bright and every sound was another white hot knife stabbing into his skull. If only Yusuke and his superpowered alter ego were here, Kurama wouldn't be in this predicament. If only… what? What could he have done differently to have avoided this? Kurama couldn't think straight, and he had the oddest feeling that he was floating, but he was fairly certain that the green rocks were still where they had been before. Kurama squinted out at the too-bright world to see where he was. The light brought a renewed wave of pain, but Kurama had definitely been able to see a rock, and it might have been green, but he wasn't going to look again.

There was an itch on his forehead, and his arms were still too heavy to move. Kurama thought vaguely that the green rocks might have something to do with this torpor. He thought again and realized that most rocks couldn't do stuff like that, and the fairies must have something to do with it. He thought again, arguing that most rocks didn't glow either, and the rocks were definitely glowing. He wondered briefly if arguing with oneself was weird. Yusuke had done it, and he was weird; Kaito too. And Sensui was so weird he even had different personalities in conflict. Kurama's foggy brain came to a jarring conclusion- he was weird.


	19. Chapter 19

Kurama still felt like he was being held up in the air when he woke again. This time, his mind was clearer and could understand what was going on. One of the fairies peered out curiously from behind a tree, catching Kurama's attention.

"Put me down," he whispered, and the feeling of resistance stopped abruptly, sending Kurama crashing down hard onto the ground. He looked up, surprised that he had been set free so suddenly. He got up slowly, wary of any signs of hostility. Kurama stepped slowly away from the fairy, brushing dust off his back.

"I want to leave here," he explained, hoping it would understand, hoping there was a way out and that out would lead somewhere recognizable. He kept walking backwards, but the fairy didn't move. Kurama took that as a bad sign and turned around.

There was a large green rock in the center of a pentagram. Kurama hesitated, unsure what would happen if he got closer. On the one hand, it might be dangerous. Then again, it might take him somewhere else or even back home. There seemed to be no way out from down here other than the way he came in, so Kurama reached hesitantly forward. He reached as far as he could and touched the rock with one outstretched finger.

Nothing happened.

Kurama stepped forward again, more sure this time, but still disappointed that he hadn't been transported somewhere. Now fully inside the pentagram, he placed his hand flat against the stone and felt a tingle up his spine.

The scenery had changed; everything was darker but so similar Kurama concluded he was in the same place, or at least a very similar place, but it was different in little ways that were hard to pinpoint. Not the same place then. Or was it? Maybe there were hundreds of these vertical caverns, similar but not the same, and he was in a different one. Maybe they were connected by the glowing rock pentagrams. Kurama's stomach sank. Maybe, while he had been unconscious, he had been taken to a different one than the one he had first found himself in. He didn't see much hope for going back home the same way he had come. Then again, there had to be at least one with a path to the surface. If fairies lived in some of these caverns, maybe there were other forms of sentient life, and maybe they had heard of the other worlds, or at least knew where this was.

Maybe, Kurama thought bitterly, this was where he would die, alone on a distant world, never to be found again. Dejected, he set out exploring, looking for another portal rock or a way up to the surface. How long would it take the others to figure out he was gone? Would they think he was missing, or would they give up looking and figure he was dead?

Kurama shuffled through the forest, kicking up huge clumps of the dense mat of leaf litter that made up the ground. A snake slithered quickly across his path, and Kurama started suddenly. He hadn't been paying attention at all to his surroundings. He took a moment to look around.

The trees here were tall and covered with red-orange bark, and bristling with spiky dark green leaves. There were hardly any bushes here, though a few slender, wispy flowers poked up out of the ground, giving a bit of variety to the scenery. Off in the distance, Kurama spotted what looked like a house. He continued toward it, not really worried about what might happen; in fact, he was more worried that he wasn't worried than about monsters jumping out. Just in case, he reached for his rose whip.

As he got closer, he noticed signs of conflict. Trees had been uprooted and flung aside, huge icy spikes had rent the ground, and the house was clearly not on its foundation but some thirty meters away. Kurama decided that it was now a good time to worry about what might have done this. He walked quickly around the perimeter of the battle scene, checking for clues to how long ago this had taken place. The next thing he knew, two figures had jumped out from behind and grabbed him.


	20. Chapter 20

Yukina and Botan were so happy to see Kurama they started laughing and crying together, holding each other and holding him, both trying to explain everything at once, neither caring that they were making no sense in their haste and in their trying to talk over the other.

"Wait, wait," Kurama said, laughing at finding the girls unharmed. "What happened? Yukina first."

Yukina sighed and disentangled herself from Botan, though she didn't let go. "I'm not really sure," she admitted, "I was outside in the garden, then Genkai called me in for something, I don't remember, and as soon as I stepped through the doorway, I was here. You were here too, Kurama, and you told me that something bad had happened and I should stay here. You told me Botan was coming too."

Kurama was shocked, and it must have shown on his face because Yukina looked confused. "Wasn't it you?" she asked.

"It must have been that sorcerer, the shape shifter," Botan said, horrified at her growing realization. She turned to Kurama. "Were you here?" she asked.

Kurama shook his head. "I got a call from Yusuke that Yukina was missing, then when I left the house I was transported here," he replied.

"It wasn't you who was healing Genkai?" Botan asked, taken aback by the magnitude of the sorcerer's treachery. "But you- or he- is going with Yusuke and the others to find Yukina!"

"What is he after, do you think?" Yukina wondered out loud. "We have to get out of here, soon."

"But where do we go first? To find the sorcerer or to help Genkai and Hiei?" Kurama asked, already forming plans.

"If Genkai or Hiei were attacked by him, and he was in your shape, they might not be too happy with you," Yukina suggested.

"But if he was giving them both poison when he said he was healing them, they might be in more pressing danger than Yusuke. He can hold his own, and he's not alone," Botan countered.

"We need to get out of here first," Kurama reminded them. "But if he did something to Genkai or Hiei… We should go there before we find Yusuke. We don't even know where Yusuke is," he said, conscious of the magnitude of the problems before them.

"I can call Koenma and let him know our situation once we're out of here. You two can see if Genkai and Hiei are in any danger, then we'll meet up in the spirit world and go straight to Yusuke," Botan suggested.

Kurama nodded. He was overwhelmed by how fast things were happening, but trying to channel his adrenalin to getting free. "Did you get to the top of this thing?" he asked. "I was in another place like this, but I could see the sky clearly above me."

"Let's try," Botan said firmly.

Yukina ran ahead, forming icy steps up to the surface. Botan and Kurama followed behind, less surefooted on the slippery stairs but just as determined to save their friends.

What little light there had been below was fading now as they ran upwards into cool blackness. Kurama could only guess that it was night here, and he estimated it had been at least two days since he had arrived, at most a week. The uncertainty gnawed at his insides. There was no way of knowing what further damage the imposter could have caused. He ran on, up, into the yawning darkness, hoping to see something familiar out there.

As they came up out of the cavernous pit, Kurama felt the pull of a portal. The trio fell through it into a long hallway. The dark, stained brick was marked every few meters by another portal, though the end closest to Kurama had a light wood door instead of a portal.

"I would assume these portals lead to other places like the one we were trapped in," Yukina said, her words echoing off the walls.

"I agree," Botan replied. "Let's try the door. That looks normal, at least."

"Maybe the sorcerer uses it to check on his prisoners," Kurama suggested.

"Do you think we were meant to be imprisoned though?" Yukina asked. "It wasn't difficult to get out; maybe we're supposed to try to escape."

Botan gave a mirthless laugh. "Or maybe we're still trapped and this is all an illusion."

"I checked, and I'm pretty sure it isn't an illusion," Kurama noted. "Let's try the door. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Yeah," Botan agreed. "I'm not sure we were meant to get out. I couldn't use my oar, and I'm guessing, Kurama didn't have any success either. This might just be safe."

"Agree then?" Kurama asked, stepping toward the door and testing the latch. "It's locked. Give me a minute." He fumbled around for a moment, then the door was suddenly open. Kurama glanced quickly around to make sure there was nothing about to attack him before stepping quickly into the room to do a more thorough check. Botan followed behind warily; she seemed to be convinced it was all a trap. Yukina had her arms up, ready to defend herself, and the air around her was already crystallizing and falling to the ground as hail. Kurama wordlessly nodded at the next door, and Botan pulled it open slightly, then jumped back, nearly hitting a statue of a fruitbat. Kurama approached and looked through. There was a long desk in the center of the room and a bookcase to the left, both made of pale wood. To the right of the desk was the statue of a woman wearing a flowing white dress and a black lace hat.

"It's a statue," Kurama whispered to Botan, who was standing very close to him looking anxious. She visibly relaxed. Kurama moved into the room carefully, watching the statue and the doorway. The statue was holding white silk gloves decorate with black lace, and she had a necklace of fine black pearls. Yukina drew in a breath.

"That's my mother," she gasped. Botan and Kurama turned to look at her.

"She left the island after her mother died, did you know? She explored the world and fell in love. Then she went back when she got pregnant. I wonder why the sorcerer has this. Maybe he was the one my mother fell in love with," Yukina said, awestruck.

The pieces were coming together in Kurama's head. "Yukina, you need to leave. Botan, can you take her? Yukina, listen, you're not safe here. You two can go back; can you go back from here, Botan? Heal Hiei and Genkai; I'll find the sorcerer," he said calmly, but there was a hardness to his voice that hadn't been there before. Yukina was worried about Hiei, so she agreed almost immediately. Botan recognized the danger Yukina was in, especially if this sorcerer was her father, so she too nodded her assent to the plan.

Kurama went on into the next room, acting more carelessly now that he didn't have anyone else to worry about. The room was covered wall to wall in mirrors except for another door straight across. Kurama had never liked mirrors because he didn't like to look at himself. It felt like the mirror took part of his soul; he knew it was stupid, but he had been raised to believe that mirrors facing each other were bad luck. He hurried through the room, not looking around.

The final room was a corner, and Kurama could see the hills surrounding the building and a high wall to repel attack. Just beyond the wall, he thought he saw a flash of something bright, but since the sun was gone, Kurama couldn't see as clearly. Nevetheless, he had made some important discoveries. First, he was on the first floor of the building, meaning he would have to go down to get out to the wall. Second, there was someone or something on the other side of the wall, and it wouldn't hurt to check.

Kurama set off at a jog across the wing of the building that paralleled the wall, looking for a way down. Finally, six rooms later, he found a flight of stairs at the back of the building, near a large dining hall. He raced down, hoping he wasn't too late, and found himself in a kitchen, empty like the rest of the house. He picked up a large fish knife, but the weight was unbalanced, so he pulled out his rose whip instead.

Kurama slipped outside and closed the kitchen door softly, leaving it slightly ajar in case it was locked. He could hear movement on the other side of the wall, and he jumped up gracefully. He saw Yusuke and Kuwabara, Jin and Rinku, Toya and what looked like his own doppelganger. The sorcerer really had taken his shape. He had taken Kurama's form, talked with Kurama's voice, and managed to fool even Kuwabara. Kurama felt dirty, and with cat-like grace and the certainty of years of training, he jumped down and attacked the fake.


End file.
